life Tag

Chances are, if you’re reading this website, you’re somewhere in the same broad demographic that I am: 18 – 35. I read a lot of similar sites and try to consume content written by people who are in similar places in their lives. It helps me, in some ways, to know that people go through the same struggles as other people. To that end, many of the columns here and other places regarding relationships and relationship advice focus on people in their early to mid 20s; jumping from relationship toRead More

We all have things that we try to hold on to. Sometimes we do it because we think it’s what we are supposed to do. Sometimes we do it out of habit. Sometimes we do it out of fear.  What we don’t realize however, is that holding onto something that we are not meant to hold on to can potentially guide us from the course we should actually be taking in life. Holding on to things that we need to let go of can attach us to our past likeRead More

I think I finally understand how the Trix Rabbit feels. Earlier today I was peeling a mandarin orange–otherwise known as a Cutie–and I noticed a little sticker that read, “Cuties are for kids!” So, is that a requirement? Are some angry children going to run after me demanding I hand over the Cuties? I find myself asking the same questions that poor rabbit asked regarding his colorful bowl of Trix. Why can’t I have a Cutie? Why do only kids get to indulge in their juicy deliciousness? Little a$$holes, nobodyRead More

I have a curiosity for new experiences and adventures, an originality quest that lately has caused me to be reckless with my intentions and sloppy with my boundaries. The careful deliberateness I had cultivated evaporated somewhere between devirginizing  a twenty-six year old and my eighteenth bacon wrapped hot dog in a month span. Here are some lessons I have been privy to lately that I have realized you are never too old to learn:   1.  Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. This statement encompasses a range ofRead More

Netflix is a fickle friend. It’s difficult to resist falling victim to a Netflix addiction. It’s so easily accessible and not to sound like the stereotypical bad influence in a D.A.R.E. ad but…everyone is doing it.   Phase 1: Discovery With all this talk about Netflix I might as well see what’s up. Sometimes I like to have the TV on in the background while I do other stuff like clean my apartment or check Facebook.   Phase 2: Experimentation Top picks for me? Why thank you, Netflix. You’re so sweetRead More

Every ambitious person knows what it’s like to have people dump on their dreams. Sometimes friends and acquaintances go right for the kill, lecturing you about how unrealistic your goals are. Other times they dump on you passively, faking interest with shit grins and responses like, “Fun!…” and, “Good luck with that…” Regardless of the method, being doubted—especially by friends and family members–sucks. Unfortunately, putting up with Debbie Downers is a part of life. You’ll always have to deal with people that take a little too much interest in yourRead More

This one goes out to the Class of 2014. Whether you’re graduating this weekend, next weekend, or in June (yeah, I went to UCSB, I know all too well the pains of the quarter system and its late graduation dates), whether you attended a private school with 2,000 people or a public school with 20,000, whether you majored in dance or biochemistry, this article is for you.   I’m not exactly a perpetual optimist. A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece about some of the harsh realities of post-gradRead More

May 2014 is upon us. It marks 1 year from when the best four years of my life (so far) ended and I entered this thing people call “the real world.” I haven’t seen many of the people with whom I shared classes, horrible professors, drinks, and memories for almost 12 months now. And soon, the class of 2014 will join me in the world I have not yet completely learned to love. There are so many things I wish I would have known about the post-grad life, but it isRead More

I’m pretty lucky when it comes to dealing with anxiety, because anxiety and I have a fairly straightforward relationship. Whenever I think I’m doing marginally okay, or feeling particularly productive, anxiety pops into my brain and quickly takes the wheel. It doesn’t matter how much I have achieved in my short 24 years of existence, anxiety has this trick that makes those achievements seem insignificant—it likes to remind me that I’m only one of approximately 6 billion humans on a planet floating in a vacuum of infinite space as weRead More

I firmly believe that when it comes to dating, texting is the actual devil. It is the demise of dozens of relationships and one text can be a game changer for countless others. One text can keep someone up all night in a ball of anxiety, and one vibration of a phone can send someone into a nervous tizzy. If it were up to me, texting would be strictly for use between friends. And not the, “Oh my god, I’m so not into him at all,” friends, I mean actualRead More

Getting dumped is something I have become well acquainted with during the past couple of years.  I like to blame it on my stint teaching English in Thailand, where an ex-pat lifestyle boasted an environment unsuitable for fostering skills to sustain a relationship and which resulted in a lot of strangers tongues in my mouth on island parties.  When I returned to the U.S. I went out with a lot of men that I was incompatible with, who I catered to, and who were only interesting after a whiskey sour or five.  I didn’t knowRead More

Don’t judge me for being on OKCupid because I know you’re probably thinking of how to describe yourself in three words at this very exact moment. I mean, I guess much like the “10 Internet Articles” article, if you begin to notice patterns in the online pickup lines you’re getting, maybe it’s time to go on a real date. Or maybe it’s just time to compile those pickup lines into a list that you then proceed to post on the internet. I don’t know. Do you, bbys. 1. The HolidayRead More

As a twenty-something year-old woman living in a city that is highly populated with single individuals, I have become quite familiar with Tinder.  Newly single, ready to mingle, and hungry for Pringles, I committed to eating for a work week only while on Tinder dates.  I approached each date with the intention of getting to know each man and considering him in my dating life post-meal.  However, as an individual notorious for her hanger (the dangerous combination of hungry and angry), I realized it was crucial to be strategic inRead More

This is it. In six to ten weeks the Class of 2014 will be off to bigger, brighter (and slightly scarier) things. College may not last forever but those lessons learned (both in the classroom and out running rampant through the streets of your college town) will. Before you (attempt to) become a functioning member of society, take a look back on the last eight semesters and take in what you really took out of college (besides that degree). Write them down and keep a list like this one, written byRead More

It’s April, and you know what that means: Spring is in the air, the days are getting longer, and around the country, thousands upon thousands of undergraduates are either crapping their pants or crying into so many Keystone Lights. Why, you ask? Because in a month’s time, the Class of 2014 will be the Graduating Class of 2014. Yikes. No more college, no more parental support, and no more irresponsibility. All that’s left is the cold, hard real world and its jobs, rent, and worst of all, maturity. Gross. So forRead More